Georgia Cyber Academy High School. Advanced Placement Course Handbook

Transcription

1 Georgia Cyber Academy High School Advanced Placement Handbook

2 What is the Advanced Placement Program? The Advanced Placement (AP) program was initiated by the College Board ( in the early 1950 s and is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities. This national program consists of 33 high school AP courses, some of which GCA offers, that are based on the curriculum of introductory college courses. AP courses are offered in more than 13,000 high schools in every state of the United States, every province in Canada and 63 other countries. They are recognized by over 3,000 U.S. and foreign colleges and universities, which grant credit and/or advanced placement to students who have performed satisfactorily on AP Examinations. These AP examinations are rigorous, standardized tests prepared by the College Board and administered in May. GCA does not offer AP Examinations, and to take the AP Exam you will want to contact your local school. In June the exams are graded by more than 2800 college and secondary school teachers brought together especially for this purpose. In July, students are mailed their exam scores. The following five-point scale is used to score the exams: 5 = extremely well qualified 4 = well qualified 3 = qualified 2 = possibly qualified 1 = no recommendation. Each college decides which AP Exam scores it will accept in return for credit and/or advanced placement. GCA awards high school level credit for passing AP coursework; however, colleges determine whether the student is awarded college level credit based on their AP Exam score. Many institutions grant credit for scores of 3 and above. Who should enroll in AP classes? The College Board suggests that successful AP students possess the following skills: Are able to read, understand, and interpret college-level information. Can apply critical thinking skills to solve problems. Possess excellent written and oral communication skills. Have good time-management tools to meet the demands of rigorous coursework. Demonstrate good attendance to school. Be self-disciplined, highly motivated and persistent In addition, GCA sets minimum pre-requisites for enrolling in certain AP s. How are AP grades weighted? AP semester grades are weighted to reflect the increased levels of rigor, work load, and expectations as compared to traditional high school classes. This means that the value of the

3 letter grade on a student s transcript is increased by 1.0 in calculating the student s GPA. GPAs are calculated at the end of each year. What AP courses are offered at GCA? The following courses are available for the school year at GCA. There are certain prerequisites for enrollment in courses. Please read the AP Parent Waiver and Descriptions for additional information regarding AP s. AP Language/Composition AP Literature/Composition AP Biology AP Environmental Science AP Statistics AP Calculus AB AP World History AP US History AP US Govt (half credit) What is an appropriate course load for an AP student? load should be determined on an individual basis as students have unique ability levels, outside commitments, and motivation to stick with a challenging course for a full year. Consulting with parents, teachers and counselors can provide the most insight. Having a student be successful in one AP classes is better than struggling in more. Students are advised to take no more than two AP courses in any given year. Some things to consider are: Previous experience in honors or AP courses Motivation of the student Co-curricular activities GPA (generally 3.0 or higher) Non-AP schedule of classes Volunteer commitments Work How are AP courses different from traditional classes? From the moment you enter an AP classroom, you'll notice the difference in the teacher's approach to the subject, in the attitude of your classmates, in the way you start to think. In AP classrooms, the focus is not on memorizing facts and figures. Instead you'll engage in intense discussions, solve problems collaboratively, and learn to write clearly and persuasively. GCA has taken steps to ensure that every AP teacher receives course specific training and that their course is validated through the College Board s AP Audit. Where do GCA students take the AP Exam? It is the expectation of GCA that students take the AP exam at the end of the course. It is the student s responsibility to locate and secure a test site for the AP Exam. The local Brick & Mortar School is a common choice. The College Board and my AP Coordinator can help locate a testing site AP

4 Descriptions Below are GCA s AP course offerings for the school year. Please review the description and requirements for each course to ensure that you meet the minimum requirements. AP Descriptions AP English Language & Composition AP Language & Composition This course focuses on the study of American literature, embracing its rhetorical nature and recognizing the literature as a platform for argument. It also emphasizes a variety of writing modes and genres and the essential conventions of reading, writing, and speaking. The students will develop an understanding of how historical context in American literature affects its structure, meaning, and rhetorical stance. Description: Students will become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. The students will encounter a variety of informational, literary, and nonprint texts from across the curriculum and read texts in all genres and modes of discourse, as well as visual and graphic images. Instruction in language conventions and essential vocabulary will occur within the context of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The students will compose a variety of writing, including expository, analytical, and argumentative writings which support the academic and professional communication required by colleges; and personal and reflective writings which support the development of writing facility in any context. The students will produce responses to timed writing assignments. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources and develop the research skills needed to effectively synthesize these sources for their writing. Expectations: Reading Requirements: analyze and interpret samples of effective writing apply effective strategies and techniques to their own writing; create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or experience demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writing write in a variety of genres, both formal and informal, employing appropriate conventions; produce expository and argumentative essays that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent explanations, and clear transitions; move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attentions to inquiry and research, drafting, editing, and review; evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction,13th ed

5 Students must be in 11 th grade. A average in English course or B average in honors English course. Various essays, projects, and assessments

6 AP English Literature & Composition Description: Expectations: Reading Requirements: Summer: Supplemental Readings: AP Literature and Composition AP Literature and Composition engages students in the critical reading and critical analysis of fiction, poetry, and drama. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. The goal of the course is designed to train students to become skilled readers and writers in literary analysis and critical reading. In short, assignments help to increase the ability to explain clearly and cogently what students understand about literary works and why they interest them as they do. During the course, students should be able to: read literature with critical insight and enjoyment; respond imaginatively, emotionally, and intellectually to the works studied; understand the universal truths of man s collective experience as they are expressed through the themes of enduring literature; perceive the various elements of fiction, drama, and poetry as they function to create a work of literary art; effectively organize, outline, and develop ideas into a subject for oral and written expression; increase competence in all forms of written expression; demonstrate understanding and mastery of Standard Written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writing; produce both formal and informal responses to literature; and apply differing critical perspectives to literary works. Required (both semesters): The Norton Anthology of Poetry, 5th ed. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction, compact 7th ed. 3 texts of literary merit (teacher selected) Required readings will be selected from College Board s recommended list of novels, plays, and poetry. Reading assignments will be determined after students complete a comprehensive reading inventory. Sample works include the following: Required (first semester): - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; - Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen; A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Required (second semester): - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Students must be in 12 th grade. A average in English course or B average in honors English course.

7 Various essays, projects, and assessments AP Environmental Science Description: Expectations: AP Environmental Science AP Environmental Science (APES) is a laboratory science course equivalent to a one-semester college course in environmental science. This is an advanced study of topics in environmental science and will encompass multiple disciplines from the scientific field such as Earth Science, Biology, Physical Science, Chemistry, and Physics along with courses of study in math, geography, history, government and literature. The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary; it embraces a wide variety of topics from different areas of study. Yet there are several major unifying constructs, or themes, that cut across the many topics included in the study of environmental science. The following themes provide a foundation for the structure of the AP Environmental Science course. Students are expected to be successful on the AP exam and must be diligent in their organization and completion of the course workload. Students are to master the scientific techniques and methodologies that will allow them to become independent learners who are capable of gathering and evaluating information logically and rationally to make informed decisions. This is a rigorous course and students must remain focused throughout. Reading Requirements: Texts: Supplemental Materials Living in the Environment - 17th Edition AP Environmental Science Lab Kit

8 A average in Biology or B average in Honors Biology A average in Chemistry or B average in Honors Chemistry Presentations, Formal lab write-ups, Current event reviews, Unit Tests and Quizzes AP Calculus AB Description: AP Calculus AB AP Calculus AB is a course in single-variable calculus that includes all the topics of a first-semester college Calculus course - techniques and applications of the derivative, techniques and applications of the definite integral, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. This is a challenging course that includes a detailed study of elementary functions. AB Calculus is designed for students who have a strong Pre- Calculus background. Topics include college level differential and integral calculus. Students will be prepared to take the advanced placement AB exam in Calculus, which may entitle them to earn up to one semester s college credit in Calculus Expectations: Students should expect to practice what they learn in class and be able to reason through difficult problems. Students are encouraged to logically think more about what is happening in a problem, rather than worry about how to find the correct answer. Students are expected to know their Algebra and Trig from earlier classes. Reading Requirements: AP Calc AB Textbook Texas Instruments T1-84 Plus graphing calculator Minimum of a B in Pre-Calculus Online tests, projects, class discussions, etc.

9 AP Statistics Description: Expectations: AP Statistics The greatest difference between statistics and other mathematics courses is that statistical instruction takes on a variety of forms. Students often work in groups to gather, analyze and discuss conclusions drawn from data. The course is very activity driven. The course is broken down into the following sections for material: exploring data, sampling & experimentation, anticipating patterns and statistical inference. Teaching materials for this course include a primary textbook, activities, lectures and discussions, readings from journal, newspapers, and videos. Minitab and Fathom, statistical software packages, are also explored. This course is appropriate for students who have high achievement and interest in mathematics. Self-motivation and academic maturity are important characteristics for this course since independent practice is imperative toward success on the AP exam. Reading Requirements: Texts: Supplemental Materials Online A Texas Instruments T1-84 Plus graphing calculator Successful completion of Algebra II This is a junior or senior level class. A good work ethic is mandatory and can be more important than a higher level math course completion. Good interpretation of the written word (reading comprehension) is an advantage. Online quizzes, tests, projects, class discussions, etc.

10 AP US History (New format will update when info is published by College Board) Teacher: Description: Expectations: AP United States History The course conforms to the College Board topics for advanced placement. The course covers United States history from the time of earliest settlements to the present. The course targets political and social aspects of history, but also includes diplomatic, economic and intellectual history. The course will involve extensive readings, independent study and frequent written analysis to prepare students for the AP examination. Students are expected to develop strong higher order thinking skills and to implement them in all class work. Additionally, students should selfadvocate and motivate. Students should not be surprised by course requirements that are in excess of what you would expect from an honors level course. It is not unusual for a student to be responsible for assignments, nightly reading from the textbook or other resources, outlines, and essays. Also, some students accustomed to making all A s may make B s or C s on tests until they understand that the standards are higher than usual and that the workload is more intense, as would be in a college course. Reading Requirements: Texts: America: A Narrative History, by Tindall et al., 8th ed A average in World History or B average in AP World History A large number of both summative and formative assessments are utilized in APUSH. A national exam is administered in May.

11 AP Government & Politics Description: Expectations: Textbook: AP American Government United States course provides an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific case studies. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. political reality. Students are expected to develop strong higher order thinking skills and to implement them in all class work. Additionally, students, not parents, should take responsibility for their own learning on a daily basis. The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, 5th ed.; American Government, by Lowi et al., 10th ed A average in US History or B average in Honors US History A variety of formative and summative assessments, oral and written assessments AP Biology Description: Expectations: Textbook: AP Biology AP Biology is an introductory college-level biology course. Students cultivate their understanding of biology through inquiry-based investigations as they explore the following topics: evolution, cellular processes energy and communication, genetics, information transfer, ecology, and interactions Students are expected to develop strong higher order thinking skills and to implement them in all class work. Additionally, students, not parents, should take responsibility for their own learning on a daily basis. Students should have successfully completed high school courses in biology and chemistry

12 A variety of formative and summative assessments will be used. AP World History Description: Expectations: Textbook: AP World History The AP Program offers three history courses: AP European History, AP United States History, and AP World History. All three history courses focus on the development of historical thinking while learning required course content. Themes foster deep analysis by making connections and comparisons across different topics within the course. Each AP History course corresponds to two semesters of a typical introductory college history course. The historical thinking skills provide opportunities for students to learn to think like historians, most notably to analyze evidence about the past and to create persuasive historical arguments. Focusing on these practices enables teachers to create learning opportunities for students that emphasize the conceptual and interpretive nature of history rather than simply memorization of events in the past. There are no prerequisites for AP World History, although students should be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences. A variety of formative and summative assessments will be used.

13 Georgia Cyber Academy High School AP Please fill out the waiver and information in the survey below. Thank you. &w=1&usp=mail_form_link